Compiled from Public Data by FairShake
The US government’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) collects complaints against financial companies.
In 2019, the CFPB received 1354 complaints against USAA. USAA ranked Number 23 among all financial companies for the most complaints.
Date of Complaint: April 25, 2019
Company Official Name: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: IA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-Product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-Issue: Funds not handled or disbursed as instructed
Full Complaint:
Since the opening of our USAA account, they have continuously posted transactions accordingly to the account. The account would reflect the transactions within the business day, displaying the proper available balance. Then, our transactions would disappear for a whole business day, reflecting that amount of money back into our account. We would then spend the money USAA told us was available. The next day the previous transactions appear along with our new transactions, reflecting a now overdrafted balance. I believe they use a computer algorithm to do this on purpose to those with continuously low account balances in the hopes of charging us overdraft fees.
For example, recently on the XXXX of XXXX, we made XXXX separate purchases of {.00} to the XXXX XXXX XXXX via XXXX and the official website. These transactions posted to the account and reflected in our available balance on that day. Yesterday, ( XX/XX/2019, a whole week after the payment posted ) I checked my account balance and saw I had {.00} available. I looked through my purchases thinking there might be some mistake, but didn’t see anything amiss ( though thinking back, I didn’t see those XXXX specific purchases listed. ) I spent the {.00} yesterday. Today, I awoke to see that my balance is overdrafted and suddenly the XXXX purchases are listed as having been Authorized and Posted yesterday, XX/XX/2019! Yet I have been using my subscription this whole time and was never made aware of any problem with my transaction.
This is predatory banking practice and highly unprofessional! We entrust our money to a bank with the expectation that our transactions go through in a timely manner and that our accounts are balanced properly. In having a Visa Debit card with USAA, it is inherently understood that I should not need to balance my own account with pen and paper as I would have to with a check. I will not pay another overdraft fee because of their mismanagement of my account and I expect that they be the ones who are fined accordingly for preying on low income families ( and MILITARY FAMILIES at that! ) Yes, in some degree this is my fault for trusting the available balance listed and not expecting to be yet again cheated by their predatory algorithm. One should be conscious of how much money they have to spend regardless of what their bank tells them. It seems almost too absurd that a bank would do this to a customer and yet, here it is!
Complaint Tags: Servicemember
Response Type: Closed with explanation
Public Response:
Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Date of Complaint: April 25, 2019
Company Official Name: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: NV
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-Product: Checking account
Issue: Opening an account
Sub-Issue: Account opened as a result of fraud
Response Type: Closed with explanation
Public Response:
Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Date of Complaint: April 24, 2019
Company Official Name: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: AZ
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-Product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-Issue: Deposits and withdrawals
Response Type: Closed with explanation
Public Response:
Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Date of Complaint: April 25, 2019
Company Official Name: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: TX
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-Product: Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-Issue: Account status incorrect
Response Type: Closed with non-monetary relief
Public Response:
Company believes complaint is the result of an isolated error
Date of Complaint: April 26, 2019
Company Official Name: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: CA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-Product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process
Complaint Tags: Servicemember
Response Type: Closed with explanation
Public Response:
Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Date of Complaint: April 26, 2019
Company Official Name: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: CA
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-Product: Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-Issue: Information belongs to someone else
Response Type: Closed with explanation
Public Response:
Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Date of Complaint: April 25, 2019
Company Official Name: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: MD
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-Product: Checking account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account
Sub-Issue: Transaction was not authorized
Full Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX while I was out of town in GA someone created a XXXX XXXX online account in my name and withdrew {0.00} from my checking account. The next day I called my bank to report this fraud. A month later they stated it was authorized by me due to the person having my name, address and cell phone number as well as bank card info. The report also listed an email address which was not mine and an ip address which is from XXXX, Fl and XXXX. I live in MD and have XXXX. I’ve called both my bank and XXXX XXXX multiple times but they are not doing anything about it. I’ve also gave them the police report claim number and my XXXX phone records to prove that I did not call XXXX XXXX or text XXXX XXXX during that time. I am not sure if this has been happening to anyone else, but something needs to be done.
Complaint Tags: Servicemember
Response Type: Closed with monetary relief
Public Response:
Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Date of Complaint: April 26, 2019
Company Official Name: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: CA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-Product: Credit card debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-Issue: Debt was result of identity theft
Complaint Tags: Servicemember
Response Type: Closed with explanation
Public Response:
Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Date of Complaint: April 26, 2019
Company Official Name: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: AZ
Product: Mortgage
Sub-Product: Home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC)
Issue: Trouble during payment process
Full Complaint:
I had a 1st mortgage with XXXX XXXX, and a HELOC with USAA. I filed bankruptcy 8 years ago, but still make my monthly payments to both of the above companies. On XX/XX/2019 I received a letter from an attorney representing USAA threatening me with foreclosure unless I paid {00.00} in arrears, and started making an increased monthly payment of {0.00} as I was 6 months in arrears. I checked my bank, and all of my payments to USAA were accepted. I called the number for USAA on the letter, which now calls itself XXXX XXXX. They couldn’t find me in their system. I started refinancing my loan immediately. When my loan guy and I conferenced called USAA/XXXX, they finally located my account. They admitted, over a recorded line, that I have not missed any payments. They still moved forward with the foreclosure process, and my house is now listed as going up for auction on XX/XX/2019. I refinanced my home on XX/XX/2019, and USAA/XXXX was wired and accepted the payoff of the HELOC on XX/XX/2019, they are still moving ahead with the foreclosure. I have contacted the attorney representing USAA on XX/XX/2019, and forwarded them copies of the payoff documents and the wire transfers.
Complaint Tags: Servicemember
Response Type: Closed with explanation
Public Response:
Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Date of Complaint: April 25, 2019
Company Official Name: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: IL
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-Product: Checking account
Issue: Problem caused by your funds being low
Sub-Issue: Overdrafts and overdraft fees
Full Complaint:
USAA has continued to reorder transactions to maximize their fees in my account and delay USAA to USAA transfers to bounce transactions. I am ” opted out ” and thus if I do not have enough money, debit transactions should be declined. Instead, they reorder charges to always process ACH transactions last, so debits always go through and they can charge overdraft fees on the ACH transactions. On XX/XX/XXXX I added {0.00} to my USAA account from USAA brokerage. On XX/XX/XXXX a {.00} ach was bounced because even though USAA had my money and had taken it from my brokerage, they did not credit it to me until XX/XX/XXXX, essentially holding it themselves on the day of XX/XX/XXXX so it was available in neither USAA account and resulting in a {.00} NSF fee. Then, they charged another {.00} overdraft fee by reordering transactions that same day they had my money not credited to clear the ACH last instead of a debit last, which would have resulted in no fee, to say I was – {.00} because of an ACH. They continuously reorder fees to process ACHs last on people that are opted out to maximize fees, and also process largest to smallest then to maximize fees. In addition, they delay USAA to USAA transfers making the money available in neither account to hold money for a day to bounce items.
Response Type: Closed with explanation
Public Response:
Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
FairShake accessed this complaint from the public archives of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). You can file your own complaint with the CFPB here.